Drought: An Agency and Interagency Perspective

Harv Forsgren

Regional Forester, Southwestern Region, U.S. Forest Service

and

Co-Chair, Southwest Strategy

Drought is the great magnifier -- exacerbating virtually every challenge associated with management of National Forest System lands in the Southwest. This brief presentation will focus on the relationship of drought to our efforts to: restore the ecological functionality of forests and grasslands; help communities protect themselves from threats emanating from adjacent public lands; and contribute to the economic vitality of local communities. The impacts of drought on fire, recreation, wildlife, and forest management -- and what we are doing about those impacts -- will be the central theme of the presentation. Planned actions by the Forest Service and those of the interagency Southwest Strategy will be highlighted. Critical information needs will also be identified.